A few months before the MH17 disaster, Ukraine warned other European countries and the aviation organization Eurocontrol that it could not guarantee safety in its airspace due to Russian aggression. Despite the warning, the airspace remained open, otherwise air traffic on the important route to Asia would have to be diverted.
This was reported by Dutch RTL Nieuws on the basis of a report from May 2014, which has been kept secret until now, from the ECAC aviation organization meeting. Ukrainians noted that Russia’s actions “often and in many ways damaged” the country’s territorial integrity.
“Therefore, aviation safety cannot currently be guaranteed by the Ukrainian authorities,” a senior Dutch official from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment warned in the now-released portion of the report. He attended the ECAC meeting on behalf of the Ministry. This represents the European Civil Aviation Conference which is the European organization for cooperation in the field of aviation. 44 European member states.
Some of his observations were made public more than seven years after the MH17 disaster, following a lawsuit by RTL Nieuws on the basis of the Government Information (Public Access) Act.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine on 17 July 2014, most likely by pro-Russian separatists. All 298 people on board were killed, including nearly 200 Dutch and some Belgians.
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